Category: Car Enthusiasts

Where it all began

It all started in late 1976. Before GReddy was GReddy, it was just one man, a racing enthusiast in Japan’s grassroots racing community building his own exhausts. The exhausts performed so well that eventually, other racers started taking notice and urged that same enthusiast to build them their own performance exhausts. Within a year, The Trust Company of Japan was born.

New to the automotive industry, Sydney has an ingrained appreciation for classic cars like the beautiful blue ’64 Catalina her grandpa used to own. A writer at heart, Sydney is a media junkie and loves to captivate and be captivated by a good story. A few of her interests include travel, reading, Netflix binging, and spending time with family. She aspires to eventually see the world and get a cat to keep her Bassador, Cooper, company.

My first car was a 1989 Chevy Celebrity. In case it’s been awhile since you’ve seen one, all you have to know is that it screams “80s” rather loudly. It has a distinctly pointy quality with its angular features, and it’s quite low to the ground. It’s the kind of car that a friend of mine once described as a “pimp-mobile in its day.” Whatever that means. Continue reading ““Hello” From the New Kid on the Street”

New to the automotive industry, Sydney has an ingrained appreciation for classic cars like the beautiful blue ’64 Catalina her grandpa used to own. A writer at heart, Sydney is a media junkie and loves to captivate and be captivated by a good story. A few of her interests include travel, reading, Netflix binging, and spending time with family. She aspires to eventually see the world and get a cat to keep her Bassador, Cooper, company.

When you lose a long-time employee, there are always mixed emotions. The boss in me races through my mind, scrambling, wondering how will we fill the gap, who will do the work? The regular guy in me is excited for the opportunities to come, the pride in seeing someone whose work you respect and like on a personal level moving forward in his career and life. All the while wondering about the anxiety and courage it requires to take that leap. Today was Andy Sheehan‘s last day and I don’t believe we yet have any idea what void he’s left in our creative and personal lives.

Once, long ago, a third of the way into my tenure here at Streetside, I wrote about one of my favorite cars of all time: the Caterham Seven. It wasn’t a review, since my chances of getting behind the wheel of a Seven could only be found with an electron microscope. This is no longer the case. Continue reading “The Caterham Seven 620R: A Review”

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

The Fast and the Furious franchise is not what it once was. It probably never will be again, though it may stretch beyond our living years, when Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson have used their immense riches to replace their withered forms with abnormally huge androids. After seeing The Fate of the Furious, I know that this is no longer a car franchise, but a superhero franchise with cars. Racing scenes have tapered off in recent movies, replaced by The Rock doing Captain America things, but Fate offered one token street race that very well may be the last in the franchise. I have thoughts.

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

Ford has been killing it in the performance department lately. The ST twins, the Focus RS, the beautifully modernized Mustang line, and of course, the indomitable GT, which already won Le Mans. They’re all milestones of a company that loves speed. But yesterday we learned that Ford is planning a hybrid Mustang by 2020. Sorry. I should have warned you to take your glycerin before reading that. It is, however, true, and that could mean amazing or terrible things for one of America’s most popular sports cars. Continue reading “A Hybrid Mustang: Best Idea or Worst Idea?”

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

Okay, bye 2016! Don’t let the door hit you. Or do. This probably won’t be remembered as anyone’s favorite year, but we did get to have some fun on the blog. In fact, we had alot of fun. Whittling this list down to seven posts wasn’t easy. Just like 2016. Here, in no particular order, are my very favorite posts of the year to the Streetside blog.

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

Last week GM CEO Mary Barra spoke with Business Insider about GM’s projected autonomous technology, and how it could turn your car into a “second office,” so you won’t have to wait until you get to the office to start working. I understand this. An hour more each day to answer emails, do research, and have some digital face time with clients would be helpful, especially for a CEO like Barra. But I don’t want it. My commutes are a refuge for a primal, archaic part of my brain, a segment quickly rusting over with neglect. Nine hours alone in a car will have it in fighting spec again, and I need that desperately. Here’s what I mean.

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.

This morning I watched that 2010 60 Minutes story featuring my favorite show in the world: Top Gear. As “Jessica” played and images of the Dunsfold studio, where the show was filmed, scrolled by, I found myself missing it desperately. But I’m not supposed to miss Top Gear. After years of waiting, The Grand Tour is here, and it’s supposed to assuage my sadness. The only problem is that it doesn’t, because it’s not as good.

Andy Sheehan is a blogger, aspiring novelist, and relentless hoon. He plans to will his 2002 Subaru WRX Wagon to his firstborn, plans his daily commute around the swoop of its roads, and doesn’t plan to ever buy an automatic. A cool-car omnipath, he loves the common Mustang or Chevelle, but hunts for the weird and wonderful Velorexes and Cosmos of the autoverse. And when he can afford a garage, he’s going to turn an MX-5 into a race car.